Synopsis The MACDONALD'SIII was engaged in a pleasure cruise in Charlottetown harbour with 34 passengers and a crew of 3. One of the male passengers fell into the water. Despite rescue attempts by the MACDONALD'SIII, the man was not found. His body was recovered on the southeast side of Charlottetown harbour on 20 September 1997. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information The vessel had been built to the Cape Island design, but had previously been used as a local inshore ferry. The vessel was licensed to carry a maximum of 40 passengers, with a crew of 3. The vessel had been fitted with clear plastic blinds, which zippered together. The blinds were mounted on a sturdy metal frame to provide some protection on both sides of the well deck from wind and rain. The after end of the well deck has no such plastic blinds. Access to the short afterdeck from the well deck is thus a simple matter of stepping from the after thwart onto the afterdeck. The life-saving equipment consisted of 44 lifejackets in a centre-line unidentified box on the well deck, and four life-buoys, one of which had an automatic light. There were also three self-inflating life-rafts, stowed above the wheel-house. The Safety Inspection Certificate, SIC 16, was issued by Transport Canada, Charlottetown, P.E.I., on 27 May 1997 and was valid until 30 September 1997. This certificate was valid for voyages in Charlottetown harbour and approaches, in fine weather and not more than five miles from shore. The vessel struck an underwater pillar in Charlottetown harbour on 17 September 1997 and was subsequently declared to be a constructive total loss. Because of her age, MACDONALD'SIII was grandfathered in that she was not obliged to submit to, nor to comply with, stability criteria, either with or without passengers on board. The skipper stated that man-overboard situations had been discussed with the crew, but no drills for such situations had ever been performed. To operate as a passenger ship, a vessel must be surveyed, licensed and have appropriate certificates. However, it is also possible to operate a vessel on a charter basis whereby the vessel is hired by an individual, or a company, for the purpose of entertaining friends, clients or associates. In this case, by definition, the people on board are not passengers. Most operators of charter boats have their vessels inspected to a standard that permits Transport Canada to issue a Small Passenger Vessel certificate. This procedure then gives the operator the flexibility to take groups of fare-paying individuals on sight-seeing or fishing trips. These small passenger vessels usually have little difficulty in obtaining a licence to sell alcoholic beverages on board. Due to a shortage of space on this vessel, the bar is normally set-up in the wheel-house. This arrangement was the case on the evening of 16 August 1997, where drinks were paid for by the charterer. In Charlottetown and in other PEI ports in general where such vessels operate, they are generally referred to as the booze boats. By verbal agreement, MACDONALD'SIII had been chartered by the owner of a company for the benefit of his staff. The duration of the charter, price, and complimentary drinks had been agreed between the company owner and the vessel owner. Between 1900 and 1915 on August 16, the company owner and 32 of his staff boarded the vessel.[1] No crew member greeted them nor was any announcement made on the public address system regarding the stowage and use of safety equipment. There were no placards posted to illustrate the correct way of donning and securing a lifejacket and giving the location and boarding procedures for the inflatable life-rafts. The vessel departed Charlottetown Marine Terminal at approximately 1915, with the passengers sitting around the well deck. They visited the bar and the only toilet in the forward cabin (cuddy), access to which was made via the wheel-house. At approximately 2045, while off the Charlottetown Yacht Club, the skipper noticed a passenger stumbling and ordered the bartender to stop serving him. The charterer suggested that rather than have his bar-service stopped entirely, he should be allowed to have coke with no rum. By that time this man had been served 3 double rum-and-cokes in approximately 40 to 45 minutes. He was also told to sit down in the well deck, where bench seating was arranged longitudinally on both sides and athwartships at the after end. The skipper also asked other passengers to watch out for him. But 10 to 15 minutes later, this man fell and the skipper heard shouts of man overboard. Observers confirmed that the missing man first climbed onto the port side of the after deck and started dancing (described colloquially as jigging). Passengers in the vicinity tried to persuade this man to come back down onto the well deck. Instead of returning, he moved over to the starboard quarter, where an anchor and a coil of rope were stowed on the deck. He resumed jigging despite the requests from other passengers to come back to the well deck. He fell overboard shortly thereafter. The skipper ordered the mate, who was steering, to go hard to port and contact Coast Guard Radio by Very High Frequency Radio Telephone (R/T). He told him to advise them of the situation while he himself ran aft for a life-buoy, scanning the water-surface for the man in the water as he did so. Shortly thereafter, one of the passengers, a strong swimmer, dove into the water. A life-buoy was thrown to this would-be rescuer and he was seen to get into it. The charterer advised the skipper that the first man was just behind a sailboat approximately 50 feet (15 m) behind MACDONALD'SIII. The charterer then removed some clothing, jumped into the water and started swimming towards the area where the first man had been sighted. According to those who knew him, the man who had fallen overboard was a good swimmer. When floating in the water, he showed no signs of distress such as waving his arms or calling for help. Reportedly he was in sight for approximately 30 to 60 seconds. The surface water temperature in Charlottetown Harbour on August 16 was approximately 12 to 14C. Canadian Red Cross information indicates that a person may survive for approximately 4 hours in such a water temperature. Despite the best efforts of the skipper and crew and the many persons on board keeping a lookout, the man who had fallen overboard was not seen again. The search was further hampered by the failure of the vessel's searchlight. The first would-be rescuer was picked up from the water still holding on to the life-buoy. The charterer was picked up from a sailboat moored off Charlottetown Yacht Club. Despite an area search by MACDONALD'SIII, other local vessels, an aircraft, an RCMP dive-team and beach searchers, the man who had fallen overboard was not found. His body was found on the southeast side of Charlottetown harbour on 20 September 1997.